The subject of this present invention is an elastic fixing element and a coherent arrangement of these elastic fixing elements. These elements are intended in particular to hold together a first and a second element, particularly rectilinear in nature, such as a vine shoot, and a support wire. The invention therefore finds its particular application in the securing of branches such as vine shoots to a support such as a support wire.
Generally speaking, in both horticulture and wine growing, we seek to guide the growth of a plant along a support, such as a cordon a trainer, a rope, a support wire or other. This support, along which the plant is fixed, can be rectilinear or curvilinear, horizontal or vertical, and is therefore used to assist the growth of the plant. It is therefore necessary to keep the plant attached to this support at one or more places.
Most of the known securing methods and systems consist of a binding or clamping of the plant onto its support. This type of securing method and system is always accompanied by a risk of damage to the plant, or indeed of insufficiently effective clamping.
We are also familiar with elastic elements that have the advantage of reducing the risks of damaging the plant while still providing effective securing onto the support. It is possible to mention especially the elastic element, and the coherent arrangement of several of these elastic elements, described in American U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,456, held by the applicant, and taken up in this present application as an example of prior art, with reference to FIGS. 1a and 1b. Such an elastic securing element 1 includes a closed loop 1a. A head 1b is connected to the closed loop 1a by a neck 1c, and extended by a top stub 1d. 
This elastic element 1 is used to secure a first element, such as a vine shoot, onto a second element, such as a support wire, by encircling with the elastic element 1 stretched around the shoot and the support wire. This encircling element is then closed by constraining the head 1b to pass into the closed loop 1a by deformation. After releasing the elastic element 1 into an unstretched state, the prominent head 1b prevents the tie from opening, since the prominent lateral parts of this head 1b are trapped in the closed loop 1a. This head 1b therefore acts as an anchor.
In addition, it is desirable to be in possession of a coherent arrangement of elastic elements 1, 1′, such as that presented in FIG. 1b, which allows the transportation of several elastic elements while also reducing the risk of losing any. These elastic elements 1, 1′ obviously have the same structure as the elastic element 1 of FIG. 1a. They are held together by a single connection at the position of their respective stubs 1d, 1d′), with a cut-out in this tie that makes it partial. Thus, in order to fit an elastic element 1, it just needs to be separated from the coherent arrangement by a tearing action.
Nevertheless, the fitting of these elastic elements is finicky and often painful work. The fitting conditions, outdoors, in areas under cultivation and in large quantities, especially in the case of wine-growing, are such that a considerable time is required to fit this type of elastic element.
If they are sufficiently strong and durable, these elastic elements are also difficult to fit by hand because of the significant force needed to stretch them during the fitting process, which renders this repeated action of fitting them a painful one.
Moreover, during the growth of the plant, it is sometimes necessary to either move the elastic element or to add a new one, which calls for regular repetition of this process for the fitting of these elastic elements.
The fitting of these elastic elements 1 by hand is all the more difficult when the stage that consists of getting the prominent head (1d) to enter into the closed loop (1a) is rendered difficult by the fact that the user is using the closed loop (1a) to stretch the elastic element 1. For as long as the head (1d) has not entered into the closed loop (1a), the elastic element 1 must be held stretched. In addition, the hand of the user pulling on the closed loop (1) impedes the passage of the head (1d) into this closed loop (1a).
Moreover, the automatic fitting of these elastic elements 1, 1′ from the coherent arrangement described in FIG. 1b is rendered difficult.
Use is made in fact of a fitting device, such as that described in FIGS. 3 to 7, and that will be described in detail below.
This device includes a top arm which is equipped at one of its ends with means for the attachment of a top portion of the closed loop of the elastic element, with the top arm being mounted by its other end so as to pivot around an axis. This device also includes two bottom arms each of which is equipped at one of its ends with means for attachment of a bottom portion of the closed loop of the elastic element, with the bottom arms each being mounted by its other end to pivot around the same axis. The device also includes means to cause the top arm to rotate around the axis in a first direction of rotation, and the bottom arms to rotate in the direction of rotation of the first direction of rotation, from a first loading position up to a second fitting position of the elastic element.
Thus, in a first part of the rotation, firstly the end of the top arm, and secondly the ends of the bottom arms, are distanced from each other. Then, in a second part of the rotation, these ends draw together again until the end of the top arm passes between the ends of the bottom arms.
It is possible for the means generating the rotation to include a longitudinal rod that is movable in translation between a first rear loading position of the elastic element and a second front fitting position of the elastic element, means to bring the longitudinal rod into translation, and means to convert the translation movement of the longitudinal rod into rotation of the top and bottom arms around the axis of rotation.
The means to convert the translation movement of the longitudinal rod into rotation of the top and bottom arms around the axis of rotation can include a toothed circular element fixed to the front end of the longitudinal rod, which is free to rotate around the axis of rotation of the top and bottom arm, and which acts as the link between these arms and the longitudinal rod, and a rack element whose teeth mate with the teeth of the toothed circular element.
Thus, a translation movement of the longitudinal rod generates the rotation of the toothed circular element around the axis of rotation of the top and bottom arm. This rotation, in its turn, generates the rotation, around this same axis, of the top arm in one direction of rotation, and of the bottom arms in the direction of rotation opposite to this direction of rotation. It is possible that the means to bring the longitudinal rod into translation should include a trigger and/or an actuator.
This fitting device can also include means for the automatic return of the top and bottom arm to the first loading position of the elastic element.
These means for the automatic return of the top and bottom arms to the first loading position of the elastic element, should include a spring for example. This spring acts in opposition to the translation of the longitudinal rod from the first loading position to the second fitting position of the elastic element. It is possible that the top and bottom arms may be curved, and/or that the bottom arms are identical and parallel.
It is preferable that the distance between the end of the top arm and the axis of rotation should be less than the distance between the respective ends of the bottom arms and this axis.
It is also preferable that at least one of the means for attachment of a portion of the closed loop of the elastic element, is a lug forming a “V” or a “U” with the end of the lower or upper arms on which it is located.
This fitting device can also include a magazine for automatic loading of the elastic element.
Now the automatic fitting of these elastic elements 1, 1′ from the coherent arrangement described in FIG. 1b, by means of the fitting device described above, is difficult. In fact during the loading of an elastic element 1, 1′ onto this fitting device from the coherent arrangement described previously, the top arm hooks, by means of its final lug, onto the elastic element 1 in the upper part of the closed loop 1a. Secondly, the two bottom arms hook, by means of their respective lugs, onto the elastic element 1 in the lower part of the closed loop 1a. Then rotation of the top and bottom arms is used to detach the elastic element 1 from the coherent arrangement by tearing at the position for the stub 1d. 
However, the elastic elements 1, 1′ are not joined together at the position of the lower part of the closed loop 1a, with the latter tending to float since it is left free, so that the attachment of this lower part of the closed loop 1a by the lugs on the bottom arms of the fitting device may not be effective, since the grip of these lugs in the closed loop is not reliable.
In addition, it is possible to attach only a small part of the bottom portion of the closed loop 1a of an elastic element 1 to the adjacent elastic element 1′, since the tearing action might damage this closed loop 1a, rendering the elastic element unusable.
The manual fitting of these elastic elements 1, as explained above, and the automatic fitting from a coherent arrangement of elastic elements such as that described in FIG. 1b by means of a fitting device such as that described above, therefore have a certain number of drawbacks as mentioned earlier.
There is therefore a requirement for an elastic fixing element, as well as for a coherent arrangement of such elastic fixing elements, which allows one to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks. In particular, there exists a requirement for an elastic fixing element and for a coherent arrangement of such elastic fixing elements that will facilitate both manual fitting and automatic fitting, without the risk of damaging the elastic element.